Indie Filmmaker Comes Back To NJ For Movie Shoot [AUDIO/VIDEO]

The camera will soon be rolling on a new independent film at the Jersey Shore, written, produced and directed by a home-grown filmmaker.

Born in Red Bank, 46 year old Joe Basile lived most of his life in Holmdel. Then several years back, he moved to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming an actor. The highly competitive world of movies and television gave him lots of chances to work on sets. Some of his early credits include a production assistant on Halloween H20, guest bit parts on shows like NYPD Blue and lots of other things. Basile had something cooking as well – a script and an idea to make his own feature length film.

WATCH THE TRAILER:

It’s been 16 years since Basile started putting pen to paper on ideas for a mafia drama. It was originally intended to be a vehicle to get him more work as an actor. However, Basile says “I modeled myself after Sylvester Stallone and his Rocky story. Everything changed quickly as this movie evolved. I am a very hands on producer and we are going to be shooting this film on a shoe-string budget. I do have a lot of support.”

The film is called West End. The movie follows a character by the name of Vic Trevi and the relationship with his family. When he leaves town after his mob-boss father is sent to prison, he doesn’t look back. When his father is murdered years later, Vic returns. Little does his family know that he’s now an FBI agent. Basile says “it’s about family, trust and betrayal. Very juicy stuff.” There are other plot details that we won’t reveal here. You have to be surprised!

The movie will be shot in Seaside Heights, Long Branch and at other shore points. The community has been extremely cooperative in location scouting, permits and permissions. Basile is looking for investors and they will also need a certain number of extras to fill background shots.

Actor Neal Bledsoe from NBC’s Smash has been cast as the lead with Eric Roberts, who recently appeared in The Dark Knight and The Expendables, in a supporting role.

Recently, the filmmakers put together a test teaser which caught the attention of the Garden State Film Festival.

If you want to submit your resume, headshot and information to be an extra or are willing to offer goods and services to the production crew, e-mail westendextras@gmail.com – also, check out the full details and video teaser here.